dseagull

The one good thing about the mistaken delivery was the customs import note, describing the contents (or not as it turned out)! Apparently, washing basket is best expressed as "Dirty washing building"

Well, it's been an 'interesting' morning so far. On the way to ballet we got a puncture on the dual carriageway. Made it round the roundabout and stopped outside Sal's work to get the mobile tyre fitter out (no spare, at least that I've found, on my Zafira). Leah getting upset at this point as she didn't want to miss ballet, so parents to the rescue to take her the mile or so down the road to the studio. By the time we'd had a cuppatea in the lounge (complete with several old ladies cooing over Hannah!), Setyres had not only been but also fitted the new tyre, leaving me with just the £80 to pay. With all that sorted, we stopped on the way home to pick up the parcel from the delivery office and some bits from Tesco. Get home and open the parcel, which should have been a pop up washing basket for Charlie... Needless to say, it isn't!! You've got to laugh really, if you didn't you would cry!

Morning all. Saturday usually means a busy start, and today is no exception, taking Leah to ballet shortly. After that there is a parcel to collect from the delivery office and a couple of shops to pop to. Hope that Stevenage proves to be enjoyable for those who are traveling.

Morning all Earlier than usual start as it's Friday, which means dropping the girls off at mum & dads before picking Sal up from work. 5 minutes now for a quick muggacoffee and then on my way. Hope it's a good Friday for all.

Morning all. Muggacoffee at the ready, work shortly. Dry here as well, but cold - BBC weather gives snow here next week, but no doubt time for that to change at least 7 times before then! Hope all have a good day.

After the MOT yesterday, car insurance now done as well. Loyalty clearly doesn't pay - renewal was £180 more than last years. A quick check on comparison websites and not only have I beaten the renewal, but I've also got the cost down £300 compared to last year, as well as reducing the voluntary excess. Scandalous really

Morning all. Muggacoffee on the go, departure to work imminent. Hope today is a success for all

Facebook marketplace rather than eBay, but still, dream on!

MOT successfully passed, albeit with the somewhat with a couple of advisories and one minor fault (apparently the garage who fitted the new battery in November haven't secured quite correctly as it is loose but not dangerously so!) I'm catching up with the red boxes now - more than one item tempts me (Terrier and those very cute Rustons), but if I am to get something done (and the urge gets stronger by the day!), a couple of blue boxes in an E4 and LBSC Atlantic would have to come first.

Morning all. Muggacoffee before heading off to work. Have booked the car in for MOT today, so hopefully all will be OK. Fortunately there is a test centre next door to work, so have decided to use that one. Tonight's task will be to sort the insurance, always a 'fun' exercise. Hope all have a good day.

Home. The call/announcement didn't directly affect us, but not good for 20 colleagues in another part of the country. Time, I think, to start looking elsewhere.

First morning back successfully accomplished. Somewhat worryingly though I am booked onto a staff forum call at 2, followed by 'an announcement' at 2.45, so will wait to see what that entails. It's not related to pay, they decided to drop the unwelcome announcement of no pay rise (for the third year in a row) on the Friday afternoon before Christmas Eve. Needless to say, there has been much whispering and speculation this morning - perhaps I should put a countdown timer on the intranet!

Morning all. Going back to work today does not fill me with glee - the job itself is fine, but some of the characters less so. Muggacoffee on the go and a contemplative mood to begin the day. Kids all still in bed, so 10 minutes of peace before I get them up and dressed! Have a good day all, I look forward to seeing what replaces the countdown!

Morning all A leisurely start to the day but the dreaded Sunday weekly shop will be upon us shortly, and then I have to do a tip run before 1. Good to hear from John that Sandy seems to be making good progress, and hope that all ERs have a pleasant day.

Morning all Muggacoffee currently on the go. I think the next item on the list is to take Charlie to his beginners Warhammer club at the shop in Eastbourne, and the usual Saturday night trip to the in-laws, but the parts of the day in between, I have no idea about. Hope Saturday goes well for all

Last of the Christmas decorations now down - the outside lights are away until December. Tonight may also be the last sizeable meal until then, as, after taking Hannah to the doctors (a very mild steroid cream prescribed for some ezcema behind the knees), I was despatched to Argos to purchase some bathroom scales. The diet, I am reliabily informed, begins on Monday. With that in mind, tonight's nosebag was a takeaway curry (Madras) which went down very nicely with a beer. Sadly, after a lovely few days, it's back to the grind on Monday with a return to work.

Glad it worked for you Pete! - When it became apparent that we needed one (when I upgraded my PC and Charlie had my old, but still decent, one), I went to buy a PCI Card to give him WiFi, but after seeing these and the difference in connection speeds, I'm glad I did. It's now been 18 months with no problems at all.

Morning all. School run shortly, Charlie off to a friends for a last day of holidays Warhammer battle, so will just be three of us for much of the day. First job of the day will be take Hannah to a doctor's appointment for some ezcema at 10, but after that, I've not yet been told what the plans are. In sure this will change shortly!

A more efficient day than yesterday - aside from half an hour when Hannah decided it was time for doze, I don't seem to have stopped! Today's activities included another trip to Eastbourne, this time to drop Charlie off to meet his biological father (a once a year affair, though they get on well enough). Whilst there, picked up MRJ (the only one of the monthlies I buy these days) for the first time in six months. The fires are stirring again... Since he got back we've done some figure painting, next up a bit of football business to attend to this evening with an incoming transfer form to scan through, but first time for a muggacoffee and something out of the rapidly dwindling box of Christmas biscuits.

Morning all No frost despite the warnings, so an easy run to collect SWMBO. School run next, but just time for a muggacoffee before we have to leave.

Our decorations mostly came down on Tuesday, with the exception of the outside lights (just some flashy ones around the window), but I noticed on the way to drop Sal off at work tonight that we seem to be in the minority now, so they too will have to come down tomorrow. No orks for me following today's trip to Eastbourne - out of stock - though Charlie got some more paint. The lightbulb will wait until tomorrow, as by the time we dragged him out of Games Workshop and had some lunch, I'd forgotten which type of fitting was required. Have to pop back into town tomorrow anyway so will get one then. Nowhere near as cold as Ian here in Sussex by the sea, but apparently it will get down to freezing or below tonight, so will be a cold start when I get the girls up and dressed to pick Sal up at 7.30 tomorrow morning. Charlie, I suspect, will still be in bed - he doesn't go back until Monday - a quirk of the calendar which has caused much wailing and gnashing of teeth from Leah!

Morning all. I'm always grateful on the 2nd of January that I usually book this week off, rather than the time between Christmas and New year, and today is no exception! Off to Eastbourne in a bit, and after a surprise pop last night, adding a lightbulb to the shopping list!

They all seemed to enjoy it, although apparently it wasn't as good as last years special. I'm also using modelling tools - my old Xurons have been pressed into use to cut parts from sprues, and I've also donated some Tamiya paint for some small bits of brown strapping. I have no doubt more will follow in time!

A quiet day here today - Sal was in bed until early afternoon after her night shift, and the kids mostly behaved themselves, so took the opportunity to sit down and read one of my Christmas presents - an excellent book for those who remember when football was football. Being born in 1984, I just about remember it before the 'Year Zero' of the Premier League, but those older would get even more of a nostalgic thrill than I did. They are now all watching the Dr Who New Year's Special, so I'm now assembling one of Charlie's Warhammer figures which he was struggling with for him. Really quite taken with the quality of these figures, especially for the price, and I've enjoyed helping build and paint these with him. He wants to pop into Eastbourne tomorrow for some more paint, so I may treat myself to a starter set of Orks and associated paint as well.

Pete; Rather than a wifi Booster, suggest looking at the various PowerLine options. This is the one we have - plug one end into socket near router, another into socket near upstairs PC, an ethernet cable into each, and it sends the data through the house wiring. Much faster than WiFi for us - Charlie (11) can do his online gaming at the same time as Sal is watching something on Now TV and I'm pottering about online using it, with no noticeable drop in performance for any of us.